Chapter 352: Dare to leave it open, and I

October 1, 2023, Hangzhou Beijing Ecological Park Esports Center Arena.

As the most anticipated match among the seven esports events at this year's Hangzhou Asian Games, and undoubtedly the king of viewership, the final was specifically scheduled for the first match of the first day of the National Day holiday.

Perhaps it was also due to the "correctness" of the two sides ultimately facing off in this final.

Even the stage design of the venue had undergone major, specially commissioned changes for this final.

The colorful floor screen suddenly lit up with a custom pattern, with pastry-like textures inlaid with flowing light trails, and the osmanthus projections circling the edges fell onto the glass partitions, turning the entire circular main stage into a "Gilded Mooncake"!

At the same time, the opening track, the classic Mid-Autumn Festival song "May We All Be Blessed with Longevity" performed by the Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng, began to play.

The melody, which signifies "reunion," echoed against the Five-Star Red Flags in the stands, making the significance profound.

The packed venue was almost entirely filled with Chinese faces, and everyone was beaming—some feeling that the gold medal was already in their pockets, others feeling that just reaching the final was an absolute success!

And looking at the "China" vs "Chinese Taipei" text at the top.

Those behind the scenes and in front of the screens who had deliberately arranged all of this also wore satisfied expressions.

The live stream, which was originally restricted to specific official apps, had its broadcast rights opened up directly!

This moment could truly be called the focus of all eyes.

The number of viewers on the online live stream was growing rapidly without a moment's pause, and the viewership ratings were crushing the vast majority of other traditional sports events happening simultaneously.

The CCTV male host stepped onto the stage.

"After 5 days of competition on the field, there are now only two finalist teams left in the League of Legends event!"

"First, let us welcome the Chinese team players to the stage!"

The venue lights focused on the stage entrance, and every player's appearance drew cheers from the crowd.

And the moment Ye Bo stepped onto the stage, the crowd below erupted in an instant; the roar from almost everyone on both sides of the venue could only be described as terrifying, and palm-sized red flags were waving in the wind together.

Ye Bo still had a bright red flag draped over his shoulder as he walked to the center of the stage and stood still, enjoying the most grand welcoming ceremony of the entire event.

He saw familiar faces sitting in the front row of the audience, including his parents, former and current teammates, and a crowd of acquaintances from the esports circle shouting, his face filled with genuine pride and honor.

He had successfully brought the Five-Star Red Flag to the center of the Hangzhou Asian Games arena!

The host was clearly also a bit shocked by this turnout, waiting a slight moment before drawing out his tone: "Next, welcome the Chinese Taipei team to the stage!"

One by one, the extremely familiar players, almost all from the LPL, stepped onto the stage, also receiving uniform cheers from the audience below without any favoritism.

"I now announce that the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games League of Legends final has officially begun!"

The players from both sides took their seats.

And compared to the relaxed and natural demeanor of the Chinese team, the Taipei team on the other side actually looked somewhat serious.

Especially Coach WarHorse; perhaps because the journey to these Asian Games had been too smooth, he had misjudged his own team's strength, and now his mind was filled with thoughts of the repercussions if they could win against the opponent, even if it were just one game.

Therefore, he made a "miracle move" comparable to giving JackeyLove a first-pick Draven.

"The red side is leaving it open... it seems they are going to leave Seeing Akali open!?"

Wang Duoduo, who had been analyzing the draft a second ago, suddenly noticed that the fixed figure that seemed to be permanently embedded in the ban slot was missing, and his eyes widened instantly.

"Could it be! Will the first surprise of this final be Ye Bo's Seeing Akali!?"

"Remember the last time we saw Master Ye's Seeing Akali, the championship skin hadn't even been released yet! We haven't even seen the original user use the championship skin once!"

The already incredibly heated barrage exploded instantly.

【Holy crap, they left Seeing Akali open!? It's Chinese New Year!!!】

【It really is, damn, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can meet once a year, but Master Ye and Seeing Akali almost couldn't meet once in a year!】

【Gala: Holy crap, Seeing Akali is here, Seeing Akali is here! It's not that I wasn't lying to you guys! She's really here this time!!】

【Good brother WarHorse, don't worry, we'll definitely leave you a whole corpse today... I promise you won't break the 1550 record!】

【Still 1550, still 1550, still 1550, everywhere I go these past two days is 1550, I'm starting to not even recognize the number 1550, am I right, 1550?】

【Do you guys think there's a possibility that if Master Ye doesn't pick her, it proves that all the teams that banned her for a year were clowns...】

To be fair.

WarHorse really had his own reasoning for this move.

On one hand, in the 13.9 MSI version, an assassin like Seeing Akali wasn't actually considered strong; both then and now, only that one team, V5, would waste a ban slot on her.

The important thing was that Ye Bo really hadn't picked Seeing Akali for a very, very long time!

And WarHorse also had a faint idea in his mind...

Could there be a possibility—that in fact, this Seeing Akali was just a fear "imagined" by all the teams, just a simple "sign of respect."

Maybe he wouldn't even play her at all!

Taking a step back, the blue side already had a huge advantage in the first game's draft, the red side's ban slots weren't enough, and it was harder to win the first game anyway.

At worst, they could just treat it as burning a hero.

The Chinese national team didn't disappoint, locking in the avatar almost instantly.

The camera cut to the player seats, and one could see Ye Bo showing a clearly surprised expression, looking uncharacteristically unsettled.

And soon.

The facts eventually told everyone.

That the sacrifice of those hundreds of ban slots over the past year was not meaningless.

Although the jungler Karsa and support SwordArt ran to the mid lane constantly, and the mid laner Fofo also picked Azir to play passively and just farm from the back.

But once level 6 arrived.

It was as if "High Noon" had arrived.

Seeing Akali, surrounded by a greenish mist, feigned moving forward, her toes half an inch off the ground in a posture like a Teng snake flying without legs, looking even more ghostly than the footsteps of ordinary assassins.

The moment Azir turned halfway, she suddenly used her ultimate, 【Perfect Execution】, to leap forward!

As she flipped forward, she dragged a blue-purple afterimage behind her, and the phantom of the Teng snake circled her body like a guardian beast.

Fortunately, Fofo was even more nervous at this moment than he had been during that "Battle of Sin" in the Summer Split. In a state of extreme emotional tension, he almost instantly synchronized and cast his ultimate, 【Emperor's Divide】, in the opposite direction!

But the next moment.

One could only see those cyan phantom skirt hems swaying with each breath. Seeing Akali lifted her legs slightly, and a pair of small cyan-glowing wings unfurled behind her, flapping as she backflipped—she actually slid and dodged at a 90-degree horizontal angle, at an extremely bizarre angle, grazing the very edge of the sand soldiers' shield tips!

It was as if she were performing a dance, the "Dance of the Falcon's Shadow"!

At the same time, a dark-colored falcon blade, hidden silently on the leg strap behind her hip, shot out, piercing through the morning mist to strike directly at the Emperor's vital point!

Fofo was so shocked that his whole body shuddered in disbelief, and he hurriedly flashed toward the inside of the turret at top speed, trying to escape.

Yet, beneath the black, thin-cloud veil hanging over her forehead, a bone-chilling coldness flashed in her mist-scarlet pupils.

The next moment, her bare ankles used the surging force to stomp fiercely from the air. Several wisps of pale cyan snake-like Qi were still wrapped around her taut calves, turning in mid-air to track the figure of the Emperor as he flashed away!

Even the defensive turret laser that had been chasing her "turned a corner" in mid-air!

Just as she arrived before him, a stomp that looked slightly rough and wild kicked directly into the Emperor's lower back and heart!

And then, with a casual, leisurely stroll, her R2 stabbed out of the turret range, as if she had just done something insignificant.

"SOLO!!! KILL!!!"

Wang Duoduo, extremely excited, completely burned through his salary: "Although the Taipei team forcibly targeted the mid lane with small early-game losses in the bot and jungle lanes, a solo kill was still completed on time at five and a half minutes in the mid lane! Seeing Akali didn't even have to use Flash!"

"A god-like technique! This is Master Ye's Seeing Akali! This is the championship skin Seeing Akali with his ID carved into it!!"

"The Emperor's laning phase is going to be ruined like this!"

Bai Bai, beside him, noticed something very strange: "In previous matches, everyone seemed to prefer the Prestige Edition 【Candle Dragon】 skin, but why, after watching Master Ye use it today, do I suddenly feel the base 【Teng Snake】 skin looks better?"

Wang Duoduo also joked: "Master Ye is here to promote products. It seems the base model will sell out after today. This is the true Master Ye selection!"